Bruins confident Muhammad will play

Jan. 29, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad (15) passes under pressure from Arizona's Nick Johnson (13) during last week's game. Muhammad has been battling the flu and could possibly sit out Wednesday's game against USC. JOHN MILLER, AP

UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad (15) passes under pressure from Arizona's Nick Johnson (13) during last week's game. Muhammad has been battling the flu and could possibly sit out Wednesday's game against USC. JOHN MILLER, AP

LOS ANGELES – UCLA freshman forward Shabazz Muhammad was running a 101-degree fever on Tuesday, showed tell-tale signs of having the flu – nausea, vomiting, etc. – and missed his first practice since being cleared by the NCAA three games into the season.

Yet when asked about the status of their sick teammate, UCLA players made it clear that they believe he's a near-lock to be in the starting lineup against USC on Wednesday.

"I think he'll play," fellow freshman Kyle Anderson said of the Bruins' leading scorer. "He's extremely competitive. He wouldn't miss a game like this for the world. I'm actually surprised he missed practice; that's just how competitive he is."

Freshman Jordan Adams and junior David Wear echoed the same sentiment, citing Muhammad's competitiveness as reason why he'll play in UCLA's rivalry game against the Trojans, even if he's still under the weather.

But UCLA coach Ben Howland isn't as sure about his star player's status and explained that it's "too early to say" whether Muhammad will be in Wednesday's lineup, given that Muhammad's illness only began on Monday night. And if he does play, there's no guarantee that he'll be playing at 100 percent, which Howland acknowledged he'll have to adjust to, if necessary.

"We'll see how he feels tomorrow," Howland said. "I think it's too early to say, whether or not he'll play or how he'll do. But he's a tough kid."

With an expectation that Muhammad could still be sick for the much-anticipated game – the first chance the former No. 1 recruit will have to play against his father's alma mater – UCLA players acknowledged that they'll have to pick up some of the scoring slack if Muhammad is hampered. After all, Muhammad has been the Bruins' most effective offensive threat this season (18.2 points per game).

That loss of production could be aided by the return of forward Travis Wear, who Howland said will likely play on Wednesday after concussion-like symptoms held him out of Saturday's loss to Arizona State. Wear was set to meet with doctors on Tuesday afternoon in hopes of being cleared for the game.

"Travis was able to go non-contact, get up and down, and do some shooting," Howland said. "So I'm anticipating that he'll be cleared as long as he has no symptoms whatsoever. ... But that's not been finalized."

RUNNING ON EMPTY

Did the Bruins run out of gas against Arizona State on Saturday?

It's a possibility that Howland acknowledged on Tuesday could've been the case after the Bruins lost in lopsided fashion to Arizona State, just days after the team's best victory of the season at Arizona.

"You could tell we were spent," Howland said, "and maybe some of that was that I pushed them too hard last Monday."

That Monday practice, Howland continued, involved what he described as "two hours and 45 minutes of running". The Bruins weren't affected much against the Wildcats, but looked the part of a tired team in Tempe, losing the rebounding battle by 20 boards and settling for bad jump shots.

Grueling conditioning, more so than ever before in Howland's career, has been a staple of UCLA's practices this season, as the Bruins continue to run a much higher tempo offense than in previous seasons under Howland.

"I just think we're doing more transition stuff on a regular basis," Howland said of the change. "You can overdo it and beat your team up. There's a fine line in trying to find that."

ALTERNATE UNIFORMS

UCLA will wear all-blue uniforms for Wednesday's rivalry game against USC – a first for the program.

Asked about the new jerseys, Howland had a very positive response.

"I think it's great," Howland said. "I think it's going to add to the excitement. ... I'm all for it. ... The kids love that stuff. ... It's a multi-billion dollar business in the NBA, college uniforms, licensing. Not only do players love it, everybody loves it."

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